BELLAIRE, Texas – (By Michelle Leigh Smith for Realty News Report) – A significant development is being planned for the former Chevron site in Bellaire.
The 30-acre property offers prime potential with frontage along Loop 610, located just over a mile from the Galleria and adjacent to neighborhoods with many multi-million-dollar homes.
Investor Danny Sheena of SLS Properties saw the opportunity and purchased the parcel from Chevron last year.
According to documents obtained by Realty News Report, Sheena proposes a mixed-use destination that would include a 300-unit mid-rise residential tower above a new parking garage, a movie theater, a 145,000-square-foot mixed-use building with office space, and several pad sites suitable for restaurants near South Rice Avenue.
Last month, Bellaire’s Development Services Department received two formal requests from Sheena on behalf of SLS West Loop, LP. City leadership initially delayed releasing records to reporters and residents, but Realty News Report secured copies of the submittals in mid-June.
Sheena plans to ask the Bellaire Planning & Zoning Commission to recommend a zoning change and to forward a Planned Development–Multi Family proposal to City Council. The vision is a mixed-use destination that blends residential, retail, entertainment, and office uses.
His submission describes four single-story perimeter buildings that could house retail or restaurants and a 145,000-square-foot, three-story interior building for retail, restaurant, health, or entertainment uses with offices on the third floor. Kirksey Architects is the project designer.
The Planning & Zoning Commission has opened a public hearing to review the proposal. For the project to proceed, it will also need approval from the Bellaire City Council.
Sheena’s proposal is ambitious. A potential obstacle is that the site lies within the City of Bellaire, a small municipality of roughly 18,000 residents with strict planning codes. The city’s Planning & Zoning Commission could block the rezoning or otherwise curtail the development.
The tranquil, grassy site was originally occupied by Texaco before Chevron acquired the company in 2001.
Sheena has rebranded the property as Bellaire Place. The site currently includes two office buildings—a 10-story and a 6-story structure dating to about 1977—totaling more than 500,000 square feet, along with a fitness center, cafeteria, and auditorium.
The large parcel is also financially important to the city. In both 2017 and 2018, Chevron paid $339,695 in city taxes, and the property was valued at $81 million.
June 20, 2019 Realty News Report Copyright 2019
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